@ewebber Yes, there’s been some good school buildings in recent years. I particularly like the modern extensions to Victorian schools, such as Orchard, resulting in the juxtaposition of the old and new. It’ll be interesting to see how the brass on Orchard weathers with age. I’m guessing it’ll end up with verdigris.

Hi – I am the Chair of Governors at Orchard Primary School. The architects on the project are http://www.rivingtonstreetstudio.co.uk/ – also based in Hackney. The cladding is Tecu and will fade in time and provide a more subtle match to the original building (the architects can probably provide a more technical explanation). However, the response from the children has been amazing – many have said that their school is made of gold and they are very proud of it! We can’t wait until the project is finished and the whole school is transformed.

@leannet Thanks for that. It’s heartening to hear of kids responding positively to architectural stimuli. I too like it \gold”. Maybe in a few years you’ll see me on ladders with a barrel of Brasso strapped to my back.”

@leannet the children of Hackney deserve an amazing looking school; and since it’s such a beautiful building from the outside, is there any chance the school would consider taking part in the Open House event so we can see it from the inside too?”

Seeing this makes me more confused as to why the Stillman Eastwick-Field building on Morning Lane was knocked down to make way for a school, on one hand the council are praising the architecture and on the other destroying it 🙁